


True Love's Kiss

by Topographical_Map_Of_Utah



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Snow White Fusion, Angst, Fantasy Bullshit, First Kiss, I guess that'a what you call it, Like You Needed Me To Tell You That, M/M, Magical Violence, Prince Finn, Witch Rey, that's what i'm calling it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-01-09
Packaged: 2018-09-16 00:04:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9265010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Topographical_Map_Of_Utah/pseuds/Topographical_Map_Of_Utah
Summary: This is not Disney's Snow White, lemme tell you that. Hell, it's barely even Snow White. Really it's just Poe lying deadish in a box and Finn wanting him to wake up.





	

 The ride through the woods was familiar to him by now. Gorges, brambles, even the occasional troll posed no threat to the traveller as he navigated the inhospitable terrain. After all, Finn had been making the trek whenever he could for nearly two years. He had done it so often that now there was a trail of flattened forest flowers and grass two horses wide leading deep in the woods, deeper than most dared to venture. But being king and wizard both, Finn wasn't daunted at all. There was a sense of confidence that comes with those positions.

He found himself at his destination just as the sun reached the apex of its climb, warm honey rays shifting and dancing through the canopy of leaves over Finn's head. He dismounted and led his speckled paint horse through the tricky little creek writhing across their path, gurgling a happy little song that Finn tried to smile at. After all, it's best to wear a grin when you're visiting a grave. Keeps the ghosts happy.

A small clearing spread out in front of him, all young trees and lush foliage, alive with birds and little yellow butterflies that danced around the strange tree growing in the centre of the glade, purple flowers blooming on slender brown branches. The glade's defining feature sat below it, gold glinting in the sunlight and glass reflecting the blossoms fluttering in the breeze. Since Finn had last been here flowering vines had started to creep up the glass-topped casket, and now it was covered with deep pink flowers. The whole thing had an almost festive air to it. Not really, but Finn could do with something positive, right now.  

The closer they got to the almost-grave the more his horse skittered, tossing her shapely orange head in distress at the mere thought of seeing her old master. Knowing there was nothing he could do to soothe her Finn released her bridle and let her run off before pushing back the casket's lid. It had never occurred to him that horses could feel grief, but either Bee was a rare exception or Finn was just bad with animals. One of the two. 

"Shh, Bee. Poe's just..." Finn swallowed, looking down at Poe's face, waxen and still as stone in the sunlight. He looked all the more dead when surrounded by the flowers and trees and swirling life of the forest. Life that Poe couldn't join in with anymore. "He's just sleeping. If you're loud you'll wake him, and you know how shitty he is in the morning."

Poe had always been something of a mess when he woke up. His hair sticking up at odd angles, face scrunched up like a raisin. He didn't look at all like the respected commander of D'Qar's military, the man who had faced down the warlock only known as Ren and laughed. Nope, when he woke up he just looked like one of Finn's best friends, the outspoken guy who liked honey cakes and dogs and could spend all day in the stables if the fancy struck him.

That had all been taken away one day on the battlefield, one day Finn still tried his best to forget.

 They were face to face in the ruins of the First Order's kingdom, Ren's mask cracked, Finn's sword shattered and cast aside, battling instead with blue flame sparking in the palm of his hands. While Rey and her mentor fought Ren's master at the castle gates, flashes of lightning sizzling and snapping across the sky, Finn and Poe had rallied their troops, blocking the path of the orcs in the service of the Order. A dangerous move, but it was worthwhile. Especially since he would get to kill Ren with his own two hands.

And he would have done it, too, then something unexpected happened. Ren had dropped to his knees, bloodied robes a tangle around him. Coughing up red, he spoke, and his words sent shivers up Finn's spine.

"I can die." Ren admitted, voice a coarse growl. The energy humming around him stilled, a cloud of pure maleficence that had Finn's head spinning. It was like he was gathering up all his energy for a final attack, but doing that would kill him. So what the hell was he planning? "But my powers can't."

With that Ren turned and fired a bolt of swirling red flame straight into Poe's chest, sending him sprawling on the ground. Finn yelled and struck Ren down, but not before Poe was convulsing, eyes glowing red and veins turning black. Finn was no physician, but he was certain that that could mean nothing good, nothing good at all.  

After the battle Poe had been carried back to D'Qar, unconscious but not dead. Any feeling even remotely related to victory was crushed out of Finn as the next twenty-four hours dragged on. Rey and Luke had worked by moonlight, candlelight, firelight, searching for a way to bring Poe back. Finn, having never had a head for curse breaking, remained at Poe's side, waiting for any sign of life, even a single breath. He was lain out in Finn's quarters for a good month before Rey convinced Finn that the palace wasn't the best place for him.

"They'll find him if he stays here. Snoke still has followers." she reminded him one night. Finn stopped feeling for Poe's pulse and looked pleadingly at Rey, but she just shook her head, like a mother denying a request for a puppy. "Ren funneled all of his powers into Poe's body. He's a vessel, not to mention a magnet for basically all things evil. We have to hide him, Finn. Ren figured he should probably save his powers, make sure that when Snoke rose to power again, he could unlock and use them." She glanced at Poe and sighed. "Fucking assholes..."

"Is there a way to fix him? Purify him? Anything?" 

"Nothing but the old standby." Rey shrugged and Finn nodded, his heart sinking down into his toes. True love's kiss could break nearly every curse in the book, but finding true love was no simple task. The odds being what they were, it was unlikely Poe would ever wake up. The sooner Finn resigned himself to that, the better. If only what his heart felt would cooperate with what his head knew.

All that had taken place over a year ago. Since then Finn's head and heart hadn't quite reached an agreement.   

There were visitors to Poe's glade, occasionally. Noblewomen who had heard of the sleeping war hero, who arrived in the finest of their whispering silk and glistening jewels. All of them came convinced they had found their happily ever after, that the lauded commander would awaken at their touch and immediately fall in love. They would make a show of it, tracing their delicate hands over the smooth ridges of his armour, sighing, cooing, wiping away a stray tear as they leant in for a kiss. When inevitably, he didn't open his eyes, the fair lady would huff and turn away in frustrated disappointment. And they all seemed to be disappointed in Poe. The fun was over, their wishes and dreams had gone up in smoke, and it was all the fault of their would-be Prince Charming.

Through it all, Finn kept vigil as often as he could. It was said that if there wasn't a sword in his hand there was a magic mirror. It was a gift from Rey, enchanted so he could keep watch even when duty called him away. And call him away it did. But even in the heat of battle Finn would find his mind drifting, back to the sunlit grove tucked in the heart of the woods, back to the golden casket that burnt his fingertips in summer and nipped at them in winter.

It was a clever bit of magic, wrought with spells which warded off predators, enemies, the elements themselves. Rain never rusted holes into Poe's armour. Snow never buried or froze him. There was also a charm that discouraged bird droppings. Rey had insisted on including that. She was the practical one in the trio. 

The last time Finn had been here the trees were just starting to shed their leaves. Now it was April and Finn could finally tear himself away from the front. The campaign against the fragmented First Order had been a long one. Leaving Poe to fend for himself like that didn't help Finn's frankly delicate mental state. What if Poe woke up while Finn was gone? What if the protective spells wore off and Poe was burnt in a forest fire? What if one day someone came along, Poe's other half, his soulmate, and he left without saying goodbye?

Finn swallowed and shook his head, glancing at the unfamiliar tracks in the dirt. "Couple more bachelorettes been through here, huh? Guess none of 'em took." he tried to laugh. "Kinda glad, though. I was scared that maybe someone would come along and you'd wake up, and then you'd..." _Leave_ , Finn was about to say. Then he was struck with a wave of regret, shameful and burning.

Who was he to decide what Poe should do with his life? The important part was that he was able to do something, _anything_. If Finn had arrived to find an empty casket, two pairs of footsteps leading out of the forest, he would have been alright with that ending, even if he never got any closure. It meant Poe was happy. It meant he was alive. It meant he was with his true love, too. Finn could never deny him that, cared too much about him to deny him that.

"I can't think of where they've been, all this time. Your true love, I mean. Maybe they live across the sea, one of those places from your mother's stories. Endor or Vetine, maybe. Maybe they're coming here, looking for you. Maybe they're coming to take you home. I hope they get here soon, whoever they are..."

A bird sang overhead and Finn looked up, caught a glimpse of red and black and then nothing but the rustling leaves. It kind of reminded him of Poe, the way he darted from place to place, singing and laughing and making you think he could fly, half the time. Well, he used to do that. These days he was a lot quieter.

"Then again, maybe they're dead." Finn theorized on sudden impulse. He actually did not know where the thought came from, but it wouldn't go away and Finn just let it consume him, burn him up in a swirl of fear and loss and so much loneliness he couldn't explain. "Maybe you're never waking up. Maybe the curse is unbreakable. Maybe I'm gonna die of old age and you're still going to be here waiting and I'll never get the chance to talk to you again or hear you laugh or..."

Something warm and heavy bumped up against his back and Finn realised he was trembling, feeling Bee nuzzle into his neck in a bid to comfort him. After a couple deep breaths he pat Bee on the muzzle and nodded. 

"That would be unfortunate." he said quietly. It really would be, for both of them. Finn couldn't lead a kingdom like this, knowing that somewhere in the woods something precious to him was sleeping, waiting for something that Finn could never give.

Or could he?

Shy and tentative, Finn knelt at the edge of the casket, reaching out and brushing back the hair from Poe's face. It wouldn't work, but even if it did there was no telling how Poe would react. Shouldn't Finn be asking for permission or something? This seemed to be a major invasion of personal space.

"I want him back, Bee." Finn croaked. The horse just snorted and trotted away. She seemed to think they needed some privacy. That was just ridiculous. Ridiculous, Finn repeated to himself as he leant in, breathing in the smell of old parchment and flowering orchards that was always clinging to Poe's skin. How had it not faded after all this time?

It was gentle, as far as kisses go, more of a peck really. Their lips grazed and Finn nearly drew back when he found that Poe's skin was warm, apparent death notwithstanding. There was something cruel about that, the mockery of a life that had ended too soon. Trying to push down any misgivings Finn closed his eyes and cupped the back of Poe's head, felt the dark hair slip and curl around his fingers, the roughness of stubble against his cheek as he kissed him, trying not to sob into Poe's mouth.

Nothing happened. Defeated, Finn drew away with a shudder, slumping against the casket with tears rolling down his cheeks. Had he done something wrong? Had Poe died in his sleep? Not knowing what else to do Finn pressed his face into Poe's neck and closed his eyes, imagining he felt a pulse, imagining he heard a breath, imagining his true love was alive.

"Please wake up. I miss you." Even in his own ears Finn's voice was cracking and hoarse. "I miss you so much." 

When it happened, Finn thought it was a dream. But he couldn't deny the feeling of warm hands on his cheeks, a familiar voice yawning around its words. So he opened one eye, then the other, then he stared at Poe for a good five seconds, taking in the rise and fall of his chest, the way his face lit up when Finn looked at him. But just to be sure, Finn reached out and pressed two fingers to Poe's neck. He was rewarded with a heartbeat, strong and steady as a drum. Alright, that was enough to convince him. 

"You." Poe's eyes were crinkled in a smile and his voice was no rougher than it usually was in the morning, warm and coarse as old leather left out in the sun. "Of course. Of course it was you." 

"You..." Finn's mind had slowed down, working through the sights and sensations, ticking slowly but surely towards a foregone conclusion. "You're alive." Finn realised. "Poe Dameron, you're alive!"

A laugh that nearly made Finn cry burst out of somewhere in Poe's chest as he sat up and hugged Finn to his chest. It was as sudden as summer rain, just as warm, too. Even as relief threatened to overwhelm him Finn pressed himself to Poe and held him tight. He didn't even care that Poe's armour was digging into his skin, because it meant Poe was alive. _Alive_ , for Christ's sake.

"Finn, buddy, easy on the old man." Poe wheezed after awhile. Sheepish, Finn loosened his grip and Poe pulled him up onto the casket, smiling and squeezing Finn's hands in his. "So what'd I miss? Hope it was nothing interesting..."

Eight battles against the Order, two orc attacks, and one visit from a rather friendly dragon probably qualified as interesting, but Finn didn't really feel like story time right now. No, what he really wanted to do was cuddle up to Poe and sleep, but seeing as Poe was rather well rested he might have to hold back on that.

"You didn't miss much..." Finn grinned and punched Poe in the arm, making him laugh. Even after two years, nothing had changed between them, nothing whatsoever. No wonder they were each other's true loves. "You, Commander Poe Dameron, are a royal pain in my royal ass. Y'know that?"

"That's why you love me." Poe hooked his finger under the fastener of Finn's heavy cloak with a smile. "Now shut up and kiss me again, Highness. Gotta make sure the curse is completely outta my system." 

"It's Majesty, now..." 

"You're kidding." Finn shook his head and Poe whistled. "Damn. I've been out of order longer than I thought. But you are pretty majestic, I gotta say. Like a swan or something."

"I forgot that you talked this much."

"I've kept my mouth shut for awhile. Got a lot to say. Most of it's in the same vein as  _I love you_ , which I do." he added. "Really and truly."

"I love you, too." Finn smiled as Poe pulled him in for another kiss, losing himself in the warmth of him, so new yet so familiar at the same time. "I really truly love you."

Saying so was kind of redundant, but Finn was glad to do it anyways.

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this in one sitting at like 3 AM idk guys these fairytale AUs I've been drawing are getting to me.


End file.
